Using Apache With Novell NetWare

This document explains how to install, configure and run
Apache 2.0 under Novell NetWare 6.0 and above. If you find any bugs,
or wish to contribute in other ways, please use our
bug reporting
page.

The bug reporting page and dev-httpd mailing list are not
provided to answer questions about configuration or running Apache.
Before you submit a bug report or request, first consult this document, the
Frequently Asked Questions page and the other
relevant documentation topics. If you still have a question or problem,
post it to the
novell.devsup.webserver newsgroup, where many Apache users are more than
willing to answer new and obscure questions about using Apache on NetWare.

Most of this document assumes that you are installing Apache
from a binary distribution. If you want to compile Apache
yourself (possibly to help with development, or to track down
bugs), see the section on Compiling Apache for
NetWare below.

Apache 2.0 for NetWare can also be run in a NetWare 5.1 environment
as long as the latest service pack or the latest version
of the NetWare Libraries
for C (LibC) has been installed . WARNING: Apache 2.0
for NetWare has not been targeted for or tested in this environment.

Information on the latest version of Apache can be found on
the Apache web server at http://www.apache.org/. This
will list the current release, any more recent alpha or
beta-test releases, together with details of mirror web and
anonymous ftp sites. Binary builds of the latest releases of
Apache 2.0 for NetWare can be downloaded from
here.

Copy the HTTPD-STD.CONF file to the
SYS:/APACHE2/CONF directory and rename to
HTTPD.CONF

Copy the MIME.TYPES, CHARSET.CONV and
MAGIC files to SYS:/APACHE2/CONF directory

Copy all files and subdirectories in \HTTPD-2.0\DOCS\ICONS
to SYS:/APACHE2/ICONS

Copy all files and subdirectories in \HTTPD-2.0\DOCS\MANUAL
to SYS:/APACHE2/MANUAL

Copy all files and subdirectories in \HTTPD-2.0\DOCS\ERROR
to SYS:/APACHE2/ERROR

Copy all files and subdirectories in \HTTPD-2.0\DOCS\DOCROOT
to SYS:/APACHE2/HTDOCS

Create the directory SYS:/APACHE2/LOGS
on the server

Create the directory SYS:/APACHE2/CGI-BIN
on the server

Create the directory SYS:/APACHE2/MODULES
and copy all nlm modules into the modules directory

Edit the HTTPD.CONF file searching for all
@@Value@@ markers and replacing them with the
appropriate setting

Add SYS:/APACHE2 to the search path, for example:

SEARCH ADD SYS:\APACHE2

Apache may be installed to other volumes besides the default SYS volume.

During the build process, adding the keyword "install" to the makefile command line
will automatically produce a complete distribution package under the subdirectory
DIST. Install Apache by simply copying the distribution that was produced
by the makfiles to the root of a NetWare volume (see: Compiling Apache for
NetWare below).

To start Apache just type apache at the
console. This will load apache in the OS address space. If you
prefer to load Apache in a protected address space you may
specify the address space with the load statement as follows:

load address space = apache2 apache2

This will load Apache into an address space called apache2.
Running multiple instances of Apache concurrently on NetWare is
possible by loading each instance into its own protected
address space.

After starting Apache, it will be listening to port 80
(unless you changed the Listen
directive in the configuration files).
To connect to the server and access the default page,
launch a browser and enter the server's name or address. This
should respond with a welcome page, and a link to the Apache
manual. If nothing happens or you get an error, look in the
error_log file in the logs
directory.

Once your basic installation is working, you should
configure it properly by editing the files in the
conf directory.

To unload Apache running in the OS address space just type
the following at the console:

unload apache2

or

apache2 shutdown

If apache is running in a protected address space specify the
address space in the unload statement:

unload address space = apache2 apache2

When working with Apache it is important to know how it will
find the configuration files. You can specify a configuration
file on the command line in two ways:

-f specifies a path to a particular
configuration file

apache2 -f "vol:/my server/conf/my.conf"

apache -f test/test.conf

In these cases, the proper ServerRoot
should be set in the configuration file.

If you don't specify a configuration file name with -f,
Apache will use the file name compiled into the server, usually
conf/httpd.conf. Invoking Apache with the -V
switch will display this value labeled as SERVER_CONFIG_FILE.
Apache will then determine its ServerRoot
by trying the following, in this order:

A ServerRoot directive via a
-C switch.

The -d switch on the command line.

Current working directory

The server root compiled into the server.

The server root compiled into the server is usually sys:/apache2.
invoking apache with the -V switch will display this value labeled as
HTTPD_ROOT.

Apache 2.0 for NetWare includes a set of command line directives that can
be used to modify or display information about the running instance of the
web server. These directives are only available while Apache is running. Each
of these directives must be preceded by the keyword APACHE2.

RESTART

Instructs Apache to terminate all running worker
threads as they become idle, reread the configuration file and restart each
worker thread based on the new configuration.

VERSION

Displays version information about the currently
running instance of Apache.

MODULES

Displays a list of loaded modules both built-in
and external.

DIRECTIVES

Displays a list of all available directives.

SETTINGS

Enables or disables the thread status display
on the console. When enabled, the state of each running threads is displayed
on the Apache console screen.

SHUTDOWN

Terminates the running instance of the Apache
web server.

HELP

Describes each of the runtime directives.

By default these directives are issued against the instance of Apache running
in the OS address space. To issue a directive against a specific instance running
in a protected address space, include the -p parameter along with the name of the
address space. For more information type "apache2 Help" on the command line.

Apache is configured by reading configuration files usually stored
in the conf directory. These are the same as files used
to configure the Unix version, but there are a few different directives for
Apache on NetWare. See the Apache
documentation for all the available directives.

The main differences in Apache for NetWare are:

Because Apache for NetWare is multithreaded, it does not
use a separate process for each request, as Apache does on some Unix
implementations. Instead there are only threads running: a parent
thread, and multiple child or worker threads which handle the requests.

Therefore the "process"-management directives are different:

MaxRequestsPerChild -
Like the Unix directive, this controls how many requests
a worker thread will serve before exiting. The recommended default,
MaxRequestsPerChild 0, causes the thread to continue servicing
request indefinitely. It is recommended on NetWare, unless there is some
specific reason, that this directive always remain set to 0.

StartThreads -
This directive tells the server how many threads it should start initially.
The recommended default is StartThreads 50.

MinSpareThreads -
This directive instructs the server to spawn additional worker threads
if the number of idle threads ever falls below this value. The recommended
default is MinSpareThreads 10.

MaxSpareThreads -
This directive instructs the server to begin terminating worker threads
if the number of idle threads ever exceeds this value. The recommended
default is MaxSpareThreads 100.

MaxThreads -
This directive limits the total number of work threads to a maximum
value. The recommended default is ThreadsPerChild 250.

ThreadStackSize -
This directive tells the server what size of stack to use
for the individual worker thread. The recommended default
is ThreadStackSize 65536.

The directives that accept filenames as arguments must use
NetWare filenames instead of Unix names. However, because Apache
uses Unix-style names internally, forward slashes must be used
rather than backslashes. It is recommended that all rooted file paths
begin with a volume name. If omitted, Apache will assume the
SYS: volume which may not be correct.

Apache for NetWare has the ability to load modules at
runtime, without recompiling the server. If Apache is
compiled normally, it will install a number of optional
modules in the \Apache2\modules directory.
To activate these, or other modules, the LoadModule directive
must be used. For example, to active the status module, use
the following:

Compiling Apache requires MetroWerks CodeWarrior 6.x or higher. Once
Apache has been built, it can be installed to the root of any NetWare
volume. The default is the sys:/Apache2 directory.

Before running the server you must fill out the conf
directory. Copy the file HTTPD-STD.CONF from the distribution
conf directory and rename it to HTTPD.CONF.
Edit the HTTPD.CONF file searching for all @@Value@@
markers and replacing them with the appropriate setting. Copy over
the conf/magic and conf/mime.types files as well.
Alternatively, a complete distribution can be built by including the keyword
install when invoking the makefiles.